J.S. Bach: Sinfonias from Cantatas

Familiar and little-known masterpieces of concertante writing by Bach in an unfamiliar context and sparkling new performances. Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach Artists: Takashi Watanabe (organ), Ensemble Cordia, Stefano Veggetti (conductor) Online purchase or streaming (Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Deezer): More Information: By transcribing its haunting Sinfonia for two pianos, György Kurtág gave the early ‘Actus Tragicus’ funeral cantata by Bach a second life. He was only following good Bachian practice, which was to make the best of what was available to him. In his sinfonias, Bach often reused movements from previously composed longer instrumental works – some of them now lost in their original, others still very much with us, such as the Brandenburg Concertos. When adapting the first movement of the Third as the opening ga